Opera Company of Middlebury (OCM) is an American opera company based in Middlebury, Vermont. It was founded in 2004.
OCM presents two operas per year at Town Hall Theatre, a venue that OCM played "a significant role" in helping restore. All productions are presented in their original language with surtitles projected over the stage.
In October 2018 OCM took Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore on tour to three Vermont cities. OCM also presents the Metropolitan Opera HD Broadcasts in conjunction with Town Hall Theatre; each opera is preceded an hour ahead by a talk about it by an OCM board member.
History The company was established in 2004. The OCM's first performance was Bizet's Carmen, which was adapted by Douglas Anderson and featured Meredith Parsons McComb, Stephanie Weiss, Yonghoon Lee and Steven Marking. Lee returned the following year in the company's second production, Tosca, with Beth Thompson.
The Town Hall Theatre underwent a $5 million renovation from 2005 to 2008. During the renovation, the OCM shifted its performances to the Vergennes Opera House and artist Fran Bull's Brandon studio. The Company returned to the Town Hall Theatre in June 2008 with Puccini's La bohème .
The company now annually presents two productions (in June and October) under the artistic direction of Douglas Anderson. Its production manager is Mary Longey. After their 2019 production of Tosca the OCM did not do any live performances until their production of The Maid of Orleans in October 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For 2020, OCM produced a version of Candide which was filmed in sections with videographer Tim Joy, and included narration by former Vermont Governor Jim Douglas.
Past productions
Carmen, 2004 (adapted and abridged) Tosca, 2005 (adapted and abridged) A Dinner Engagement, 2006 A Little Night Music, 2007 La Bohème, 2008 The Barber of Seville, 2009 The Pearl Fishers, 2010 La Rondine, 2011 Thaïs, 2012 Madama Butterfly, 2012 Eugene Onegin, 2013 The Italian Girl in Algiers, 2014 La Traviata, 2014 Turandot, 2015 Dido and Aeneas, 2015 Macbeth, 2016 The Magic Flute, 2016 Il Trittico, 2017 L'Elisir d'Amore, 2017 A Streetcar Named Desire, 2018 Tosca, 2019 Candide, 2021 The Maid of Orleans, 2021
References
External links Official website of Opera Company of Middlebury